There are far more electricity providers in Alberta that offer competitive retail services than there are regulated utilities that do the same.
The number changes yearly as new electricity retailers form and existing ones split or merge. At the moment, there are roughly 30 energy providers operating within the province. Below is an abbreviated list of electricity suppliers in Alberta.
AltaGas is a natural gas and electricity company in Calgary that has been providing retail services in Alberta for more than 20 years, and longer in its previous incarnation as Alberta and Southern Gas Company. Strictly a supplier of natural gas at its founding, it has expanded into supplying electricity and developing green energy solutions. It produces and supplies electricity to a number of electricity retailers, as well as large businesses and industrial manufacturing plants.
ATCO Power, based in Calgary, is the division of ATCO which supplies electricity to major commercial and industrial organizations, such as factories, hotels, retail chains, educational and municipal facilities, energy and oil companies, and so on. ATCO Power owns a stake in 13 power plants in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. The combined generation capacity of these stations is approximately 3,600 megawatts, of which ATCO Power owns about 2,300 megawatts (64%).
ATCOenergy is the retail arm of the ATCO group of companies. ATCO had exited the retail energy market roughly a decade ago while Canada was completing the process of deregulating the country’s electricity market. But in February 2016, ATCOenergy was launched as a new retail company offering electricity and natural gas plans to residential and small business customers. ATCO’s reentry into the retail market gives Albertans another great option to choose from for their energy needs.
Direct Energy Business Services is one of the newer natural gas and electricity companies operating in Alberta, having been founded in Toronto in 1986 (but now headquartered in Houston, Texas). However, it has expanded its operations and services extremely rapidly since its acquisition by the European company Centrica PLC, itself a supplier of electricity and natural gas. It supplies electricity and natural gas services to a very broad customer base, including governmental and public institutions, and businesses of all sizes. As of September 2014, it has the third-largest industrial and commercial customer base in North America.
ENMAX Energy is a natural gas and electricity company owned by the City of Calgary, and has been serving the area since 1905. It has a broad commercial customer base, with basic plans ideal for the needs of small businesses, while offering specially tailored electricity offerings for medium and very large businesses, including customers that consume in excess of 350,000 megawatt-hours per year. ENMAX has produced its own energy for nearly 110 years, and sources additional electricity from the open market and other energy producers. Since 2000, the company has returned more than $1 billion in capital and improvements in the Calgary area electricity and natural gas infrastructure.
Hudson Energy, originally founded in New York but now owned by Canada-based Just Energy, specializes in supplying electricity and natural gas to mid- and large-sized businesses. In addition to offering traditional power services, Hudson Energy has a number of green energy options available, including the installation of solar panels on customers’ properties, providing a source of on-site electricity generation.
Just Energy, is based in Ontario and Houston, but provides natural gas and electricity services to companies throughout Alberta and the rest of Canada. Just Energy’s subsidiary electricity company Hudson Energy serves the energy needs of large commercial operations, while Just Energy itself offers electricity plans designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Just Energy operates throughout Canada and the United States under its own name as well as through a number of subsidiary companies. Just Energy recently expanded into the United Kingdom under the name Hudson Energy UK.
TransAlta, operating out of Calgary, has supplied natural gas and electricity to the region for more than a century. In recent years, TransAlta has focused its retail operations on large companies and organizations that consume 250 MWh of electricity or 2,500 GJ of natural gas per year. Current customers include businesses in a wide variety of markets, including public utilities, energy production, retail, and industrial and manufacturing operations. TransAlta now owns more than 70 power plants across North America and Australia. One of the earliest producers of green energy in Canada, starting with the construction of a hydroelectric dam at Horseshoe Falls in 1911, TransAlta has expanded its operations to include other sources of alternative energy, including wind and geothermal power.
Contact us for more information on energy comparisons and the low retail rates available due to the burgeoning electricity industry in Alberta.
